Defying EU, Hungary suspends rules on asylum seekers

BUDAPEST/VIENNA, June 23 (Reuters) - Hungary on Tuesday
suspended European Union asylum rules requiring it to take back
refugees who have travelled through Hungary to other countries,
and Brussels immediately called on it to clarify its action.

"Hungary's asylum system is overburdened, the most
overburdened among EU member states affected by illegal
immigration," a Hungarian government spokesman said.

The asylum rules, known as the Dublin Regulation, were first
drafted in the early 1990s. They require people seeking refuge
to do so in the European country where they first set foot.

So far this year, more than 60,000 immigrants have crossed
into Hungary illegally, the government said.

The European Commission called on Hungary to explain
immediately why it had stopped taking back asylum seekers from
other states in defiance of EU rules.

"As the Dublin rules do not foresee the suspension of
transfers by the receiving member states, the Commission has
asked Hungary for immediate clarification on the nature and
extent of the technical failure, and on the measures taken to
remedy the situation," a Commission spokeswoman said.

Budapest cited "technical reasons" for its suspension for
an indefinite period.

"Hungary has used up the capacities at its disposal," the
government statement said. "The situation requires fast action;
in this escalated situation Hungary needs to take a move ahead
of EU decisions."

A week ago Hungary announced plans to build a fence along
its southern border with Serbia to stem the flow of illegal
migrants who enter Europe through the Balkans from the Middle
East and Africa. Most move on to wealthier western Europe.

This week sees an EU summit where leaders are to discuss
proposals to redistribute asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said such a plan
"borders on insanity".

Suspending the Dublin Regulation particularly affects
countries neighbouring Hungary, such as Austria. A spokesman for
the Austrian Interior Ministry said it was pushing "to find a
solution as quickly as possible".

Austria itself has stopped processing asylum requests in an
effort to pressure other EU countries to do more to help absorb
waves of refugees pouring into the continent.

It had 21,000 asylum requests in the first five months of
the year, the interior ministry said. It had around 17,000
requests in all of 2013 and 28,000 in 2014.
(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels;
Editing by Andrew Roche)